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News surfaced regarding Utah State’s star coach.
Contact/Follow @sean02mtm & @MWCwire
News in the Mountain West:
News dropped via KSTPSports, a local Minnesota news station regarding Minnesota’s head coaching candidates. Northern Iowa HC Ben Jacobsen already interviewed with one unnamed coach set to interview & in notable Mountain West news, Utah State head coach Craig Smith is expected to interview.
Minnesota fired Richard Pitino only a few weeks ago, and soon thereafter, Pitino got the New Mexico job, and now Minnesota is locking back in the direction of where their former coach ended up. Looking at Craig Smith from the same conference.
No. Iowa hoops coach Ben Jacobson interviewed for the #Gophers job over the weekend, sources tell KSTP Sports. We hear at least 1 other in-person interview has already occurred, w/ at least 1 more on the horizon today. Utah St coach Craig Smith is expected to interview in-person.
— KSTPSports (@KSTPSports) March 22, 2021
It’s not surprising news that Smith is a candidate for high-end jobs & of course will listen & entertain options.
It’s worth noting Smith had an extension announced in February, through the 2025-26 season. Should Smith decide to leave early, he’ll owe Utah State 25% of whatever amount remains on his contract, but often that money is paid by the new school the coach ends up at.
Full Contract Breakdown via Salt Lake Tribune here:
Smith in three seasons in Logan, got the Aggies into the Mountain West championship game all three seasons, earning two automatic bids (2019, 2020, but 2020 tournament was canceled.) And Utah State got into the 2021 tournament as an at-large team before falling to Texas Tech.
A situation worth monitoring in the coming months. A lot of jobs open & Smith is going to be a common name for most jobs.
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